Small wows the crowds at Orillia Hawks tournament

ORILLIA-Nearly seven full years have passed since Sami Jo Small drained in the last of her three excellent adventures at the Winter Olympic Games.
Yet neither time nor distance has taken the shine of those moments.
Small was reminded of that this past weekend, when she packed up her Team Canada sweater and Olympic gold medals and headed to Rotary Place and the 17th annual Orillia Hawks Girls Hockey Association Tournament.
“Coming to tournaments like this is something I take great pride in,” said the Winnipeg native.
Small was the guest attraction, as dozens of girls, who were among the 85 teams and over 1,000 participants, mobbed her for autographs and photos.
“There are so many girls here smiling and they just look like they are have a ball playing hockey,” said Small, talking with Orillia Today during a brief break from autograph signings.
A three-time Olympian, Small won gold as the goaltender with Canada’s national womens’ hockey team in 2002 and 2006, and in doing so became a household name in hockey circles across Canada.
“I feel privileged to have had an opportunity to play for Canada’s national team for such a long time. As players, we believe we have a responsibility to be role models and mentors for young kids. That kind of responsibility is ingrained in you when you play for the national team,” said Small.
She notes today’s female players are so fortunate, in that they have so much available to them.
“I wish I had all of this when I was a kid,” said Small, looking out over the Rotary Place landscape.
When she was five, Small actually started ice hockey as a skater, because her parents wouldn’t let her play goal.
Only when she was approximately 10 did she begin to strap on the goalie pads.
In her early days of minor hockey, she said she played with boys, who were supportive of her playing on their team.
In the approximately two hours she spent at Rotary Place, Small watched some of the action and could see the same determination in the eyes of players, something she brought to the rink when she was growing up.
“It’s amazing to see so many young eyes looking up at you and dreaming that same dream that we once dreamt. Who knows? There are probably going to be a couple of girls at this tournament that will probably be on the national team some day,” said Small.
She thinks back to the first womens’ world ice hockey championships, held in 1990 and remembers the women on that team who were role models of hers.
“It’s amazing that the world championships are being held once again this year in Ottawa, so the game as we know it has really come full circle,” she said.
Giving girls access to tournaments like the Orillia Hawks event is key to growing the game at the grass roots level and improving individual fundamentals (passing, skating, shooting, puck-handling).
“It’s great that we have come so far in girls hockey now that girls can walk into an arena with their hockey equipment and it feels normal and natural to them,” said Small.
As well as access to arenas and ice time, she notes girls now have the opportunity to become eligible for hockey university and college scholarships and can play in various parts of the world.